Shimano Exage vs early Shimano 105?
10-04-16, 04:47 PM
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Shimano Exage vs early Shimano 105?
To me a lot of the better quality SHimano Exage ROAD components look a lot like the 1st generation of Shimano 105 components. Thus I've often wondered if the ROAD Exaged groupset was based on the 1st generation Shimano 105 stuff? Or was it a trickle down over the years with the 1st generation 105 stuff getting relabeled as the Road Exage stuff?
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10-04-16, 05:10 PM
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There's not a lot of cross over --- maybe a year or two , -- but wasn't Exage basically replaced by RSX and RX-100 around the same time old 105 suddenly got a gray paintob and turned into new 105?
10-04-16, 08:26 PM
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I think Exage was the old Shimano Uniglide system stuff. It seems to me that when Hyperglide arrived Exage disappeared.
10-04-16, 08:41 PM
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It's just as good as 105 IMO. My '87 LeMans has Exage Sport and I love it. The brakes are as grabby as any single caliper I've ever had and I like the rubber things on the levers. Shifts real crisp and overall quality is great. No
desire to upgrade.
desire to upgrade.
10-04-16, 09:16 PM
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I like Exage too, very nice working components imo. And yeah, very similar to 105. In fact I've got Exage hubs spinning in my '88 RB2 wheels, which I ride almost daily on my Univega bike. Great hubs.
10-04-16, 10:21 PM
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At a given point in time the lower groups are derived from the higher ones. At the time of Exage there were more levels and they were all really similar... more similar than they are today. If they didn't have unique paint and decals, you'd have a hard enough time telling them all apart with a scale and a magnet.
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10-05-16, 05:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Darth Lefty
At a given point in time the lower groups are derived from the higher ones. At the time of Exage there were more levels and they were all really similar... more similar than they are today. If they didn't have unique paint and decals, you'd have a hard enough time telling them all apart with a scale and a magnet.
Exage LX/CX is pretty much the same as Deore LX, and 500EX is a re-paint of 105, with the exception of the brake calipers.
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10-05-16, 07:13 AM
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The critical factor in the creation of Exage was the expanding price range of the late 1980s. Technological developments in the late 1980s was constantly driving up the price of the top end bicycles at a greater rate than inflation was driving up the entry level models. This divergence meant that any one particular group was having to cover a wider price range. This was nightmare for salespeople who had to justify why bicycle brand A with group X was $50 cheaper than bicycle B with group X.
In 1987, 105 had been upgraded to new 105, receiving SIS shifting, SLR braking and a more modern styling based on new Dura-Ace. As such, it moved up the price ladder, leaving a gap to Light Action. Manufacturers filled this gap by either going with SunTour or watering down a New 105 group by specifying tertiary components such as headsets, pedals, bottom brackets, etc, form sources other than Shimano. Shimano responded by filling the gap with Exage. The concept was to offer entry level groups in sufficiently small price increments that a homogeneous group could be spec'd without having to source outside Shimano.
The Exage road road groups were introduced a 1988, a year after New 105. There were three versions; Sport, Action and Motion. While they covered the price range previously occupied by 1st generation 105, they owed little to it. The Bio-pace was inherited from the ATB line, while SIS had trickled down from Dura-Ace and SLR from New 105. The Exage groups also introduced their own innovation of a road triple with front derailleur SIS. Stylistically, they mimicked New 105, which had been influenced by New Dura-Ace.
In 1987, 105 had been upgraded to new 105, receiving SIS shifting, SLR braking and a more modern styling based on new Dura-Ace. As such, it moved up the price ladder, leaving a gap to Light Action. Manufacturers filled this gap by either going with SunTour or watering down a New 105 group by specifying tertiary components such as headsets, pedals, bottom brackets, etc, form sources other than Shimano. Shimano responded by filling the gap with Exage. The concept was to offer entry level groups in sufficiently small price increments that a homogeneous group could be spec'd without having to source outside Shimano.
The Exage road road groups were introduced a 1988, a year after New 105. There were three versions; Sport, Action and Motion. While they covered the price range previously occupied by 1st generation 105, they owed little to it. The Bio-pace was inherited from the ATB line, while SIS had trickled down from Dura-Ace and SLR from New 105. The Exage groups also introduced their own innovation of a road triple with front derailleur SIS. Stylistically, they mimicked New 105, which had been influenced by New Dura-Ace.
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10-05-16, 01:44 PM
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I meant my '88 has Exage, not the '87. It's definitely a step up from Light Action. The main difference I see from 105 is you have to use a spanner to center the calipers instead of an allen wrench.
I like those rubber things on the levers.
I like those rubber things on the levers.
10-05-16, 04:24 PM
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My 89 Peugeot Versailles came from the factory with Exage "Action" brakeset, shifters, crankset (with Biopace, which I ditched immediately), and RD. FD was 105.
I've upgraded all the Exage to period correct 105, as I found the plastic bits and funky grey metallic coating to be a little on the cheesy side for my taste. The plastic escutcheons on the shifters actually cracked. YMMV.
The FD I had to upgrade to 600, in order to accommodate the 105 triple crankset.
I've upgraded all the Exage to period correct 105, as I found the plastic bits and funky grey metallic coating to be a little on the cheesy side for my taste. The plastic escutcheons on the shifters actually cracked. YMMV.
The FD I had to upgrade to 600, in order to accommodate the 105 triple crankset.
